Climate - Sarawak is a tropical state with an equatorial climate. It is hot and humid throughout the year with average daily temperature ranging from 23°c during the early hours of the morning to 32°c during the day. It experiences two monsoonal changes. The North East Monsoon, which usually occurs between November to February, brings with it heavy rainfall. The South West Monsoon from June to October is usually milder. Despite our monsoon seasons, the climate in Sarawak remains fairly stable throughout the year. Annual rainfall varies between 330 cm to 460 cm for the greater part of the country.

Time Zone - GMT/UTC +8, which means Malaysia , is eight hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Meridian Time), sixteen hours ahead of US Pacific Standard Time and thirteen hours ahead of Eastern Standard. Daylight Saving Time is not applicable to the country.

Currency - The Malaysian unit of currency is the Ringgit Malaysia (RM), which is divided into 100 sen. Currency comes in notes of RM1, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100. Coins are issued in 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen, 50 sen and RM1 denominations. Malaysian Ringgit or MYR is pegged to the US Dollar and US$1 is equivalent to MYR3.80.All commercial banks are authorized foreign exchange dealers. Major hotels however, are only licensed to buy or accept foreign currencies in the form of notes and travellers cheque.

Population - Sarawak has a population of 2,176,800. The capital city of Kuching has some 458,300 people making it the highest populated city in Sarawak and the the 7th highest populated city in Malaysia

Language - As the official language of Malaysia , the Malay language (Bahasa Malaysia ) is still very much used by official government agencies and for official correspondence. Most schools also teach Bahasa Malaysia as the primary language with English taught as a subject. However, with the major towns and cities fast becoming economic centre, English is widely used and spoken in Sarawak . With the large Chinese settlement in the major towns and cities, a variety of Chinese dialects are used depending on the community. The most common dialects are Hokkien, Hakka, Foochow , Teochew and Mandarin. Most Sarawakians bridge the communication divide between the various ethnic groups with "Bahasa Sarawak" (literally meaning Language of Sarawak) sometimes known as local Malay. This is an adaptation of Bahasa Malaysia and is understood and used by many of the locals for daily communicating

Clothing & Dress Codes - Malaysian climate is generally hot and humid, therefore clothing made of cotton and other natural fibres are more suitable. In terms of dress codes, Malaysians wear almost similar clothing style as Europeans and Americans, although modesty is observed

Water - Water is generally safe to be consumed from the tap, though boiling prior to consumption is advisable.

Visa Requirements - kindly refer to the website www.kln.gov.my for all entry requirements

Electricity & Voltage - Electric supply is on a 240-volt 50-cycle system. Visitors from countries using different electricity voltage systems are advised to bring their converters and adaptors

Shop Hours - Department stores and supermarkets are usually open from 10am to 10pm and shops from 9:30am to 7pm. In Kuala Lumpur as well